Side opening container

ABSTRACT

The container includes sidewalls having upper and lower hems and side margin portions which are overlappingly and detachably attachable to close the container. An expansion pleat provides the container with an adjustable length and the overlapping connection of the hems provides the container with an adjustable girth. The container is adapted for use with a disposable liner and includes attachment means at the upper end capable of holding liners of varying capacity in an open condition. The disposable liner can be attached to the container by plugs or, alternatively, the upper hem of the container can be frictionally faced to facilitate holding the liner in the open condition.

United States Patent 1191 Yoch [111 I 3,817,444 June 18, 1974 SIDE OPENING CONTAINER [76] Inventor: James J. Yoch, No. 6 Algonquin Estates Rd., St. Louis, Mo. 63122 22 Filed: 04.1.26, 1971 21 Appl.No.: 192,203

52 us. Cl. 229/48 R, 93/391 P, 229/4.5, 229/21, 229/23 R, 229/41 B, 22,9/DIG. 3

511 Int. Cl. 865d 5/44 [58] Field of Search 229/23 R, 23 A, 23 BT, 229/41 R, 41 B, 41 c, D16. 3, 4.5, 48 R, 37 K121222 75 93/ 3.9- 911 339 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,926,941 9/1933 Gomes 229/23 R 1,991,746 2/1935 Hiatt ..'2l7/3 FC 2,130,588 9/1938 Krein et al... 229/4.5 2,140,996, 12/1938 Heifetz 229/4.5 2,845,155 7/1958 Sneyd-Kynnersley 190/18 A 2,925,757 2/l960 Wilson 93/39.l P

3,251,532 5/1966 Hechtman et al. 229/DIG. 3

Primary ExaminerWilliam T. Dixson, Jr. Assistant Examiner-Stephen P. Garbe [57] ABSTRACT The container includes sidewalls having upper and v lower hems and side margin portions which are over- 8 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures 1e 25 141 ll r5 21 l9 {2? BACKGROUND OF'THE INVENTION containers directly because of sealing and cleaning problems. Such problems have led to the use of flexible plastic liners and while such liners are easily sealed and are disposable they are not without other problems. For example they are subject to tearing and are difiicult to hold in the open position while being filled.

In an effort to solve the above problems, rigid containers have been designed to contain disposable liners.

In general, the rigid outer container is a permanent structure with provision for holding a disposable openended liner. 7

Known holding means for such devices include auxiliary metal framing; recessed clips; and hooks of various types. Not only are such holding means relatively expensive, particularly when built into the container, but in addition they are invariably adapted to suit only one size of liner. Other containers have been provided with specially designed batches of liners, which are removable one at a time. The deficiencies noted above with respect to the-holding means'and the restriction to one size of liner remain.

A problem which is inherent in all known lined containers is-that the filled liners must be removed by lifting them upwardly from the container. This is frequently beyond the strength of a domestic user particularly when wet and heavy refusematerial is involved.

. Further, in the collection of relatively lightweight waste material such as leaves, relatively large liners are used. Such liners are cumbersome and it is extremely difficult to lift them vertically from a container. The problem is aggravated when the liner-is stuffed and there is considerable frictional resistance between the liner and the outer container.

' SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This container is provided with a side opening which obviates the necessity to remove the contents from the top. The container is particularly useful in conjunction with a liner and, because of the means provided for holding the liner open, the container is not limited tov use with only one size of liner. Further, because of the side opening it is a simple matter to remove the liner without lifting it bodily upwards.

- The manner in which the sidewalls are connected and a the means provided to hold the liner in the open position are simple and render the container easy to use and inexpensive to manufacture.

The container includes sidewall means having opposed ends and longitudinal margin means which are overlappable to close the container. Attachment means are provided which detachably secure the overlapping longitudinal margin means to determine the girth of the container. The container may be transversely pleated to provide an expansion means selectively determining the length of the container.

The attachment means includes interlocking means adjacent one end of one of the longitudinal margin means and embracingly disposable about the same end of the other of said longitudinal margin means to close the container. The interlocking means can be provided by reversely formed peripheral hems, the end portions of the upper hem being nestably related and the end portions of the lower hem being nestably related. F riction means provided between the nestably related corresponding hem ends facilitates the holding ability of said hem ends. A threadedly adjustable clamp plate can be used to secure the lapped longitudinal margins together.

Transverse wall means provide a bottom wall for the container. In one species, the container includes a longitudinal rear hinge to facilitate opening and the transverse wall includes a pair of overlapping wall portions attached to the container sidewalls.

Thecontainer is usable with an open ended liner receivable therewithin, and liner attachment means are provided at the upper end of the container to hold the liner in the open position. The liner attachment means in one species is provided by slit hem portions through which material at the one end of the liner is tucked. Alternatively, the liner attachment means is provided by a plurality of apertures spaced about the open end of the container the liner being reversely folded about the upper end of the container to overlap the apertures, the liner being held in place by means of plugs insertable within the apertures to sandwich the liner between the plugs and the sidewall means.

The container is provided with a lid overfitting the upper ends of the container in the closed condition and the lid is provided with a substantially double hook, optionally engageable with the front and rear edge portions to hold the lid in an open position. The lid is attached to the container sidewalls by means of elongate resilient elements in both the open and closed lid positions..

The invention discloses a method of forming a side opening container from a sheet of material having opposed sides and ends. The method comprises the steps of folding the material adjacent each end to form a double thickness margin portion; overlapping the material adjacent the sides to form a tubular container and interlocking the doublemargin portions to hold the sidewalls together. Forming a pair of transversely disposed parallel folding lines on the sidewalls permits the sidewalls to be pleated to provide a lengthwise extensible container. Applying a layer of friction material between the interlocking double margin portionsfacilitates the holding'together of the overlapped sidewall portions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the container;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the container illustrating the construction of the lengthwise expansion pleat;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the container in the closed condition;

, FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the container with a removable liner in position and illustrating two positions of a resiliently mounted lid;

FIG. 5. is a plan view of the container and liner with the lid omitted;

FIG. 6is a perspective view of a modified container having a cylindricalconfiguration;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detail of the lap joint illustrating a hem friction lock;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged detail of the lap joint illustrating a hem clamp lock;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken on line 9-9 of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view of a modified hem illustrating a liner retention slit;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the hem taken on line l1-11 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the hem illustrating a liner clip; and

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an articulated bottom wall.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now by characters of reference to the drawings and first to FIGS. 1 and 2 it will be understood that the container, generally indicated by numeral 10 is formed from a single sheet of relatively thin material such as cardboard. The sidewall material, initially rectangular, includes opposed upper and lower edges 11 and 12 and opposed side edges 13 and 14 which collectively define the sheet 15 constituting a sidewall means. The material adjacent the upper edge 11 is outwardly folded to provide an upper hem l6 constituting an upper end and the material adjacent the lower edge 12 is inwardly folded to provide a lower hem 17 constituting a lower end.

The sheet 15 includes a pair of spaced, transverse fold lines 20 and 21 which are substantially parallel to the upper and lower hems as shown in FIG. 2 and which extend between the side edges 13 and 14. The container 10 includes longitudinal fold lines 22-25, by means of which the sidewalls 15 can be folded into a closed container having a substantially rectangular configuration, and a longitudinal fold line 26 which will be discussed later. Fold lines 22-25 define opposed side panels 27 and 28, and rear panel 30. Overlapping front panel portions 31 and 32 are defined by fold lines 22 and and side edges 13 and 14.

It will be understood that by folding the sidewalls 15 about transverse fold lines 20and 21, so that the material between said lines is sandwiched by material on either side of said lines an expansion pleat 19 is formed which can be used to extend the length of the container 10.

The sidewall panels are formed into a substantially rectangular tube by overlapping the front panel portions 31 and 32 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3. The overlapping portions of panels 31 and 32 constitute longitudinal margin means and in order to maintain said overlapping panel portions in position, end portions 16a and 16b of the upper hem 16 and end portions 17a and 17b of the lower hem 17 are nested together in interlocking relation said end portions constituting attachment means. The end portions 19a and 19b of the pleat 19 may be similarly interlocked to augment the locking action holding the overlapped front panel portions together. The reversely formed nature of the upper and lower hems permits interlocking by simply raising front panel portion 32 relative to front panel portion 31 and embracingly disposing associated end portions of hems 16 and 17 about each other.

The removable, container bottom wall 33 constituting transverse wall means is formed from a single sheet of material and includes a bottom panel 34, opposed side flaps 35 and 36 and rear flap 37. It will be understood that the flaps 35, 36 and 37 are interlockingly disposed within associated portions of the bottom hem 17 and that the omission of a front flap permits opening and closing of the container 10 without removing the bottom wall 33.

As indicated in FIGS. 4 and 5 particularly the container 10 can be used in conjunction with a liner, generally indicated by numeral 40, of plastic or similar material such as is commonly used for the collection of trash, leaves and similar waste materials. The container 10 is not limited to a liner of fixed capacity and may be used with liners that are larger or smaller than the capacity of the container. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 the liner 40 is preferably overlappingly disposed about the rear and side portions of the upper hem 16. The effective size of the mouth of the liner 40 is determined by the point at which it is secured to the upper hem of the sidewalls 27 and 28. The point of securement is adjustable and in the species illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, adjustment is achieved by providing a plurality of opposed pairs of apertures 41 in the hem 16 and a pair of plugs 42 selectively insertable within opposed pairs of said apertures 41 so that material at the mouth of the liner 40 can be sandwiched between the plugs 42 and the associated apertures 41 to provide the liner 40 with a relatively taut edge 43 extending between said plugs 42. This method of securing the liner 40 to the container 10 insures that the mouth of the bag is maintained in an open, easily accessible condition, whereby filling the liner 40 is easily accomplished as a one man operation. Further, the lap joint can be adjusted to ensure that the edge 43 is maintained in a taut condition.

As'shown in FIG. 3 the lap joint may be also secured by providing a plurality of alignable apertures 55 in associated hem end portion 16a and 16b, or and 17b, and plugging said portions together by means of plug 56.

It is desirable in some instances, particularly when the bag is to be used for trash, that a-lid be provided. A preferred form of a suitable lid is indicated by numeral 44 in FIG. 4. The lid 44, which is shown in two open positions in FIG. 4, includes side elements 45. The overlapping of the mouth of the liner 40 about the upper hem 16 of the container 10 provides the lid 44 with an effective seal in the closing position by virtue of liner material peripherally engaging the underside 46 of the lid 44. In order to provide additional sealing pressure between thelid 44 and the container 10 tension means are provided such as opposed elastic elements 50 which extend between the container side panels 27 and 28 and the side elements 45 of the lid 44. It

will be understood from FIG. 4 that the lid 44 can be hooked onto the front or rear of the container 10 when the liner 40 is being filled. The hooking of the lid 44 is achieved by means of a lug 51, having a zee configuration, which'is connected to the lid underside 46. When the lid 44 is open to the right, the outer lug portion 52 hooks about the front edge of the container, and when the lid 44 is to the left the inner lug portion 53 hooks about the rear edge of the container 10.

the liner 40 securely in place.

FIG. 12 illustrates the use of a bulldog clip 70 to hold one of these folds as a'handhold and tip the container I 7 onto the wheels 54 whereby to propel it easily and conveniently. Further, because the wheels 54 project outwardly of the rear panel 30 the container can be laid in a generally prone position tilted upwardly from the open end. In this position leaves, and like debris, may easily be swept into the container 10 the inclination as sumed by the container being comparable to that of a dust pan. p

The container is not limited to a rectangular configuration and FIG. 6 illustrates a comparable container 110 of cylindrical configuration. In this species, as with the first species, the overlapping portions 131 and 132 are adjustable to vary the girth and hence the capacity of the container. This adjustment may be effectuated to suit a particular size of liner 140.

In some instances it may prove desirable to provide the interlocking hem portions of the containers 10 and 110 with an auxiliary holding means for maintaining the overlapping sidewalls in place. Such an auxiliary holding means can be achieved, as shown in FIG. 7, by providing a layer of friction material between the nested hem end portions 16a and 16b. A frictionalized coating such as the rubberized coating 160 applied to one of the engageable surfaces of the hems provides an effective holding means. As shown in FIG. 6 a similar rubberized coating 171 may also be applied to the faces of the hem 116, engageable by the liner 140, to hold said liner securely in place during use.

Alternative means of holding the lap joint together are illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9. In this modification the hem end portion 16b includes a notch 61. A clamping plate 62 of metal or heavy duty plastic is secured to this hem end portion by means of a thumb screw 63 extending through an aperture 64 and the lapped hem portions 16a and 16b are adjustable relative to each other within the range permitted by the length of the notch 61. The joint may be fully secured by tightening the thumb screw 63.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate a means of attaching the liner 40 to the container hem 16 by providing a plurality of edge slits 65 through which the liner bag material may be reentrantly urged. Downward pressure on the bag material, resulting from filling the liner 10, tends to close the hem l6 and, in addition, exert a pressure on the engaging portions of the liner material. The coating 6 when such a longitudinal hinge is provided. It is desirable, in providing such a hinge opening container, that the bottom wall be constructed in such a manner that it may remain in position when the container is opened. FIG. 13 illustrates such a bottom wall for the container 10 consisting of two overlapping parts 80 and 81, which are formed in substantial mirror image of each other. The bottom wall portion 80 includes a bottom panel portion 82 and side, front and rear flaps 83, 84 and 85 which are insertable within associated portions of the bottom hem 17. The bottom wall portion 81 includes a bottom panel portion 86 and side, front and rear flaps 87, 88 and 89. The overlapping panel portions 82 and 86 are cut away at corners 90 and 91 respectively to pennit said panel portions to move in hinged relation substantially about the rear sidewall hinge line indicated by numeral 26.

It is thought that the structural features and functional advantages of the container have become fully apparent from the foregoing description of parts, but for completeness of disclosure the usage of the container will be briefly described.

The container 10 generally disclosed in FIGS. 1-5 is intended primarily for use with a liner 40. As shown in FIG. 3 the container 10 is closed by nesting together the end portions 16a and 16b, and 17a and 17b of the upper and lower hems 16 and 17 respectively. The reversed forming of the hems 16 and 17 facilitates this of the inside faces of the hem 16 with a friction material such as rubber [not shown] further assists in holding a liner 40in place over the outer frictionalized face of the hem 16. The friction face is achieved as by a rubber or grit coating generally indicated by numeral 71.

There are some instances in which it is desirable to manufacture the container from a relatively stiff material such as plastic or metal. In these instances it is advantageous to provide a longitudinal hinge line, such as that indicated by numeral 26 in FIG. 1 and numeral 126 in FIG. 6 to facilitate the side opening of the container. FIGS. 1 and 6 illustrate, in broken outline, the

' disposition of the rear portion of the container sidewall closure by permitting relative insertion of the hems by simply raising the front panel portion 32 relative to the front panel portion 31 a distance approximately equal to the width of the hems l6 and 17 and lowering the front panel portion 32 into position. In the event that the container is provided with the extension pleat 19 it will be necessary to shift the front panel portion 32 relative to the front panel portion 31 a distance equal to the width-of said pleat to secure insertion of the right hand pleat portion 19a into the left hand pleat portion 19b.

The container bottom wall 33 is installed by inserting side and rear flaps 3537 into corresponding portions of the lower hem 17. The bottom wall 33 does not include a front flap and therefore the front panel portions 31 and 32 can be opened as shown in FIG. 5 without removing said bottom wall. It will be understood that the container 10 may be provided alternatively with a lapped bottom wall such as shown in FIG. 13 so that the container may be opened about hinge line 26.

The longitudinal overlap between the front panel portions31 and 32 may be maintained by the interengagement of the material of the container hems. Preferably, a frictional layer such as indicated by numeral in FIG. 7 may be provided between the nested hem portions to increase. the holding power. Alternatively, a positive connection between container lapped portions may be provided by the use of plugged aligned apertures such as shown in FIG. 3 or by a clamping device as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

When used in conjunction with the liner 40 said liner is simply inserted within the mouth of the closed container and either plugged, clipped or otherwise held to the upper margin of the container. For example the liner material may be pushed under the upper hem 16 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. It will be readily understood that the container 10 provides a firm support for the mouth of the liner 40 which enables leaves, trash or other waste materials to be easily stuffed into the bag by one man. Further, the front open feature permits the liner 40 to be removed from the container easily and without lifting by simply opening the container 10 and pulling said liner sideways.

In some instances it is desirable to provide a lid for the container 10 particularly when it is used for malodorous materials. As shown in FIG. 4 the preferred structure of such a lid 44 includes a lug 51 having a zee configuration and the lid is resiliently held to the container in either the closed position or open position. For additional convenience the container 10 is provided with a pair of wheels 54 and by rotating the container about the bottom left comer [FIG 4] until the wheels become ground engaged the operator may propel said container utilizing the front upper hem as a handhold.

.It will be understood that the length of the container 10 may be increased simply by opening the sidewalls to a substantially flat condition, pulling the container lengthwise to unform the pleat 19 and then closing the sidewalls. The girth of the container may be varied somewhat by adjusting the amount of sidewall overlap.

I claim as my invention:

1. A side opening container comprising:

a. a sidewall including:

1. opposed ends at least one of said ends defining an open mouth when the side wall is in the assembled condition, and

2. longitudinal margins oppositely disposed when the side wall is in the unassembled condition and overlappingly disposed when the side wall is in the assembled condition, and

b. attachment means detachably and re-attachably securing the overlapping longitudinal margins together to determine the girth of the container,

c. the attachment means including a first transversely disposed engagement means adjacent one end of one of said longitudinal margins and engagingly disposed in frictionally adjustable sliding relation with the same end of the other of said longitudinal margins in the container closed condition.

2. A container as defined in claim 1 in which:

d. the attachment means includes a second transversely disposed engagement means on the other of said longitudinal margin means disposed in longitudinally spaced relation from said first transversely disposed engagement means and engagingly dis-- posed in frictionally adjustable sliding relation with a portion of said one longitudinal margin means.

3. A side opening container comprising:

a. a sidewall including:

1. opposed ends, and

2. longitudinal margins oppositely disposed when the side wall is in the container unassembled and overlappingly disposed when the side wall is in the assembled condition, and

b. attachment means detachably securing the overlapping longitudinal margins together to determine the girth of the container,

c. the sidewall including an upper end and a lower end,

d. the attachment means including reversely formed upper and lower herns disposed at each of said ends including a hem end portion adjacent the ends of each longitudinal margin,

e. said upper end hem portions being nestably related and said lower hem end portions being nestably related in the closed container condition.

4. A container as defined in claim 3, in which:

f. means for providing friction is provided between the nestably related corresponding hem ends.

5. A side opening container comprising:

a. a sidewall including:

1. opposed ends, and

2. longitudinal margins oppositely disposed when the side wall is in the unassembled condition and overlappingly disposed when the side wall is in the assembled condition, and

b. attachment means detachably securing the overlapping longitudinal margins together to determine the girth of the container,

.c. the sidewall including a longitudinal hinge, and

d. a transverse wall providing a bottom wall for the container and including a pair of overlapping wall portions movable with respect to eachother as the sidewall is hingedly moved about the longitudinal hinge.

6. A side opening container comprising:

a. a sidewall including:

1. opposed ends at least one of said ends defining an open mouth when the side wall is in the assembled condition, and

2. longitudinal margins oppositely disposed when the side wall is in the unassembled condition and overlappingly disposed when the side wall is in the assembled condition, and

b. attachment means detachably and re-attachably securing the overlapping longitudinal margins together including adjustably positionable surface engageable faces at least one of said faces having a layer of frictional material thereon, said frictional material holding said faces together to determine the girth of the container.

7. A method of forming a side opening container from a sheet of material having opposed sides and opposed ends the method comprising the steps of:

a. folding the material adjacent one end to form a double thickness margin portion,

b. reversely folding the material adjacent the other end to form a double thickness margin portion, and

claim 7 including the additional step of:

e. forming a pair of parallel fold lines extending substantially between the opposed sides, and f. pleating the material between the fold lines so that said material is sandwiched by material on either side of the fold lines. 

1. A side opening container comprising: a. a sidewall including:
 1. opposed ends at least one of said ends defining an open mouth when the side wall is in the assembled condition, and
 2. longitudinal margins oppositely disposed when the side wall is in the unassembled condition and overlappingly disposed when the side wall is in the assembled condition, and b. attachment means detachably and re-attachably securing the overlapping longitudinal margins together to determine the girth of the container, c. the attachment means including a first transversely disposed engagement means adjacent one end of one of said longitudinal margins and engagingly disposed in frictionally adjustable sliding relation with the same end of the other of said longitudinal margins in the container closed condition.
 2. longitudinal margins oppositely disposed when the side wall is in the unassembled condition and overlappingly disposed when the side wall is in the assembled condition, and b. attachment means detachably and re-attachably securing the overlapping longitudinal margins together to determine the girth of the container, c. the attachment means including a first transversely disposed engagement means adjacent one end of one of said longitudinal margins and engagingly disposed in frictionally adjustable sliding relation with the same end of the other of said longitudinal margins in the container closed condition.
 2. A container as defined in claim 1 in which: d. the attachment means includes a second transversely disposed engagement means on the other of said longitudinal margin means disposed in longitudinally spaced relation from said first transversely disposed engagement Means and engagingly disposed in frictionally adjustable sliding relation with a portion of said one longitudinal margin means.
 2. longitudinal margins oppositely disposed when the side wall is in the container unassembled and overlappingly disposed when the side wall is in the assembled condition, and b. attachment means detachably securing the overlapping longitudinal margins together to determine the girth of the container, c. the sidewall including an upper end and a lower end, d. the attachment means including reversely formed upper and lower hems disposed at each of said ends including a hem end portion adjacent the ends of each longitudinal margin, e. said upper end hem portions being nestably related and said lower hem end portions being nestably related in the closed container condition.
 2. longitudinal margins oppositely disposed when the side wall is in the unassembled condition and overlappingly disposed when the side wall is in the assembled condition, and b. attachment means detachably and re-attachably securing the overlapping longitudinal margins together including adjustably positionable surface engageable faces at least one of said faces having a layer of frictional material thereon, said frictional material holding said faces together to determine the girth of the container.
 2. longitudinal margins oppositely disposed when the side wall is in the unassembled condition and overlappingly disposed when the side wall is in the assembled condition, and b. attachment means detachably securing the overlapping longitudinal margins together to determine the girth of the container, c. the sidewall including a longitudinal hinge, and d. a transverse wall providing a bottom wall for the container and including a pair of overlapping wall portions movable with respect to each other as the sidewall is hingedly moved about the longitudinal hinge.
 3. A side opening container comprising: a. a sidewall including:
 4. A container as defined in claim 3, in which: f. means for providing friction is provided between the nestably related corresponding hem ends.
 5. A side opening container comprising: a. a sidewall including:
 6. A side opening container comprising: a. a sidewall including:
 7. A method of forming a side opening container from a sheet of material having opposed sides and opposed ends the method comprising the steps of: a. folding the material adjacent one end to form a double thickness margin portion, b. reversely folding the material adjacent the other end to form a double thickness margin portion, and c. overlapping the material adjacent the sides to form a tubular container interlockingly attaching the double margin portions together to maintain the tubular condition.
 8. A method of forming a container as defined in claim 7 including the additional step of: e. forming a pair of parallel fold lines extending substantially between the opposed sides, and f. pleating the material between the fold lines so that said material is sandwiched by material on either side of the fold lines. 